Well, long term, the sun's gonna turn into a bigger badder ball of red and eat the Earth, and if we haven't found somewhere outside the asteroid belt to live by then.. well, then all of human history will be forever gone (except voyager probes and whatnot!).

The things you say are true, but I still want to go to Mars. Even if being the first man on Mars means being the first man to die on Mars, that's totally fine.

We've gotta get off this rock eventually, let's go now.

I don't care. Put me on that rock. Hell, I'll go tonight. Let's do this.

Get me there, let me walk on Mars. The rest is details, nothing that happens after taking a step on another planet could possibly ever matter to me ever again, and whatever was done, whatever was sacrificed, whatever the cost, it would be worth it. I don't care. Let's go.

This is Italy we're talking about. Are you sure you want to keep the example of having sex with a minor, or is that only OK in Italy if you've paid for it and the girl was foreign?

It exactly is that black and white, though.
Keep in mind -- this is *ITALY*. Their legal system is not the jewel of the world.
If content was reported and Facebook gave it the A-OK, that might make them liable.
If it was just shit going on that Facebook didn't see? They're not liable, but you can bet Italy is going to try hard as they can to make bank off this.

Facebook didn't publish the videos or comments, common carrier blah blah blah -- if I post some hateful speech right now, slashdot is not liable (in any sane world, keeping in mind this case is in Italy so the opposite would be true).

They don't... I.. no. No, that's not what happens. The case down around Baltimore/DC, where their workers were caught dumping trash bags of ex-pet-corpses into dumpsters (that they didnt even own)?

Yeah came to be that most of the pets that PETA's shelter got in only managed to survive a scant few weeks before being killed. And then thrown in dumpsters illegally, because RESPECT FOR ANIMALS! And also RESPECT FOR NO-DUMPING LAWS!

the particular problem i'm referring to has to deal with the cali low-emissions vehicle standards, it might be different now tbh, but at least at one point it was impossible for a diesel to qualify due to particulate matter in exhaust (that is, even a diesel with less emissions than a gasoline engine had to meet a higher standard which was basically impossible to meet).

it may have changed though.. these days i just try to learn as little about that state as possible, it's just really a mess. the land's great, the people aren't bad, but the rest? ugh

That's actually shockingly bad for an American car, but it's a Nissan, which isn't an American car company. They're just putting a really shitty engine in the American version (the Europeans get a diesel that gets 54mpg, but thanks to California's fucked up emissions laws, diesels aren't something that can be called eco-friendly here).

Except Bloomberg actually HAS broken the law, he headed up an illegal gun-running operation (he called it an undercover sting, but as far as I am aware you really can't form up a private law enforcement club and wantonly break laws just because you say it's OK to do). Never been charged or arrested, never will.

What laws have the Kochs demonstrably violated?

Maybe it's a rumor, but the thing is -- I'm pretty sure it's not. That's Bloomberg. Right there. That's how he is.

Do you forget this was the guy who headed up an illegal gun running operation under the guise of an undercover sting, despite having no jurisdiction or legal authority to run a sting, let alone a sting taking place across STATE lines? His little operation actually ruined the investigative work of REAL law enforcement.

He's King Asshat, that's why NYC seems to keep re-electing him.

Ted was talked to be Secret Service.

what's your next talking point hombre. Secret service takes their job seriously and will, yes, investigate any threat against the president that comes to their attention. Usually that means they determine it was hyperbole, exaggeration, hot air - and not an actual threat. Sometimes it means that the person may have meant it, but was/is mentally ill and needs treatment rather than jail time. Sometimes they arrest a guy who's driving to DC with guns in their trunk.

Ted was in fact visited by the secret service and after an interview they determined he was just blowing hot air and was not a threat.

The Occupy movement received a quite negative reaction because the Occupy movement was a pile of shit. I don't disagree with some of their points, but the way they conducted themselves was very unbecoming and only a fucking idiot would think you could sway public opinion to your side by shitting in parks and illegally marching and obstructing traffic.

They behaved like children and were treated as such, and that's perfectly fine by me. Compare that to the likely no less crazy tea party, who tended to follow the law during their rallies and not make violation of laws and ordinances part of their playbook. Occupy had no respect for anyone who wasn't Occupy, the Tea Party at least understands that they need to not actively act like shitheads if they want to be heard.

This is not the thought police.

Let's go Occam on this shit.

This guy over a period of time becomes more and more unhinged with his facebook postings, more erratic with his language and more fringe with his beliefs. You knew him, and what he is saying now is quite different than how you remember him. That's worrisome, watching somebody slide into derangement. Then he starts posting things about heading out to start a revolution, and sharpening his axe, and... well, yeah maybe he's just posting things.
That's the problem, though. When someone becomes erratic like that, it's hard to tell how far off the deep end they may have gone.

Most likely a friend or family member alerted authorities, not to protect any generals or presidents but rather to protect this guy from harming himself, because they believed that he had become delusional and fundamentally disconnected from reality. That shit really happens, and it's really painful to see, and if you know anyone like that do try and get help for them because they will need it.

I've had a friend involuntarily committed several times. Going off meds is a bad thing. The things I've been told while visiting... it really is painful, I don't have another word for it. Here's someone you care about and they're just crazy. The radio is playing songs specifically for them, the meanings speak about them and their situation. Things in their personal life are happening (except they actually aren't). Convinced of things that haven't happened, that aren't true, but they have a memory of it and know it's true and you know it's not and they can't believe you, and hell, you're afraid to speak out and correct them because while they're receiving care (against their will, yes) they're convinced that the doctors are actually experimenting on them and it's all part of a conspiracy to keep them quiet, to keep them down, to dull their mind -- and if you try and disagree with them, you're suddenly all a part of that mess and if you just stay quiet and let the doctors help them at least you can still visit and make them smile so they have a bright part of their day while they're recovering.

This was NOT because of his political views, this was and is only about Raud's mental illness (or lack thereof, although I very seriously doubt that he is not mentally ill).

Come talk when you actually know and are close to somebody with a serious mental illness.

Basically, you're talking out your ass.

Yes, people can believe crazy and stupid shit -- but some people who believe crazy and stupid shit do so because they have a mental illness, and that's NOT good. They can be helped, and they should be.

If someone chose to jump off a building because they thought they could fly, would you blithely sit and watch because OMG FREEDOM? Or would you stop them and try to find them the help that they need so that they can actually understand the reality of the world that they live in, that they CAN'T jump off a building and fly?

But hey I'm sure you're right. Let's let all the mentally ill people just sleep on the street and talk to the voices in their head and die destitute of starvation or exposure, because FREEDOM! Let's not make any attempt to help them out, because FREEDOM! Because hey, when you're born with a disability, who gives a shit, because FUCK YEAH FREEDOM!

Don't conflate sane people doing stupid and/or evil things with mentally ill people who are fundamentally disconnected from reality.

It cheapens the wrongs done by sane people AND the seriousness of mental illness.